Efficient electrical passenger car with motor control

ABSTRACT

An electrical passenger car, the electrical passenger car including: at least two electrically driven motors; motor control electronics; sensors; and wheels, where the wheels include a first front wheel and a first back wheel, where the first back wheel has a radius at least 20% greater than a radius of the first front wheel, and where during acceleration of the electrical passenger car, the motor control electronics receive signals from the sensors and provide traction control delivering more power to one of the at least two electrically driven motors accordingly.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/019,342, filed on Sep. 13, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/794,410, filed on Feb. 19, 2020, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,843,679 issued on Nov. 24, 2020, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/596,515,filed on Oct. 8, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,604,141 issued on Mar. 31,2020, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/566,861, filed on Sep. 10, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,479,177issued on Nov. 19, 2019, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/149,011, filed on Oct. 1, 2018, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,449,804 issued on Oct. 22, 2019, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/582,778, filed on May 1, 2017,now U.S. Pat. No. 10,173,464 issued on Jan. 8, 2019, which claims thebenefit of U.S. provisional Patent Application 62/349,054, filed on Jun.12, 2016. In addition, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/566,861,filed on Sep. 10, 2019, also claims the benefit of U.S. provisionalPatent Application 62/846,722, filed on May 12, 2019. All of the above,each in their entirety, are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention

This application relates to the general field of automotive design,function and ornamentation.

2. Discussion of Background Art

Automotive designs have included wheels for many years with littleregard for fuel efficiency. However, as the global oil resources becomeconsumed, and political factors continue to make gasoline pricing high,there is a need for a more efficient automobile. There is also the needfor a more fuel efficient design of the wheel and sometimes ofassociated components.

SUMMARY

The invention may be directed to automotive wheel design, generally forpassenger cars.

In one aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passenger carcomprising: an electrically driven motor; differential speed control;and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a first front wheel, a secondfront wheel, a first back wheel, and a second back wheel, wherein atleast one of said wheels has a radius larger than 80 cm, wherein saiddifferential speed control comprises an ability to have a turning speedof said first front wheel greater than a turning speed of said secondfront wheel, and wherein said electrical passenger car is designed totravel for a greater distance for the same axial to wheel frictionenergy loss than a similar electrical passenger car having wheels of asmaller radius.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: an electrically driven motor; differential speedcontrol; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a first front wheel, asecond front wheel, a first back wheel, and a second back wheel, whereinsaid first back wheel radius is at least 20% greater than said firstfront wheel radius, wherein said differential speed control comprises anability to have a turning speed of said first front wheel greater than aturning speed of said second front wheel, and wherein said electricalpassenger car is designed to travel for a greater distance for the sameaxial to wheel friction energy loss than a similar electrical passengercar having wheels of a smaller radius.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: an electrically driven motor; a differential speedcontrol; a center of gravity; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise afirst front wheel, a second front wheel, a first back wheel, and asecond back wheel, wherein a distance from said center of gravity to aroad surface is 10% longer or shorter than a radius of said first backwheel, wherein said differential speed control comprises an ability tohave a turning speed of said first front wheel greater than a turningspeed of said second front wheel, and wherein said electrical passengercar is designed to travel for a greater distance for the same axial towheel friction energy loss than a similar electrical passenger carhaving wheels of a smaller radius

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: an electrically driven motor; and wheels, wherein saidwheels comprise a first wheel, a second wheel, a third wheel, and afourth wheel, wherein said first wheel and said second wheel have aradius 20 percent larger than said third wheel and said fourth wheel,wherein said electrical passenger car comprises a total weight, whereinsaid electrical passenger car comprises a center of gravity designed sothat greater than 50% of said total weight will be over said first wheeland said second wheel, wherein said electrical passenger car is designedto travel for a greater distance for the same axial to wheel frictionenergy loss than a similar electrical passenger car having wheels of asmaller radius, and wherein said second wheel width is equal to or lessthan said third wheel width.

In another aspect, An electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: an electrically driven motor; and wheels, wherein saidwheels comprise a first wheel, a second wheel, a third wheel, and afourth wheel, wherein said first wheel and said second wheel have aradius 20 percent larger than said third wheel and said fourth wheel,wherein said electrical passenger car comprises a total weight, whereinsaid electrical passenger car comprises a center of gravity designed sothat greater than 50% of said total weight will be over said first wheeland said second wheel, wherein said electrical passenger car is designedto travel for a greater distance for the same axial to wheel frictionenergy loss than a similar electrical passenger car having wheels of asmaller radius, wherein said center of gravity has a height from a road,and wherein said height is equivalent in length to a radius of saidsecond wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: an electrically driven motor; wheels, wherein saidwheels comprise a first wheel, a second wheel, a third wheel, and afourth wheel, wherein said first wheel and said second wheel have aradius 20 percent larger than said third wheel and said fourth wheel,wherein said electrical passenger car comprises a total weight, whereinsaid electrical passenger car comprises a center of gravity designed sothat greater than 50% of said total weight will be over said first wheeland said second wheel, and wherein said electrical passenger car isdesigned to travel for a greater distance for the same axial to wheelfriction energy loss than a similar electrical passenger car havingwheels of a smaller radius; and electronic traction control.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; and wheels with a radius larger than 90 cm, wherein saidcar comprises at least one hybrid driving system.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; and wheels with a radius larger than 90 cm, wherein saidwheels comprise a first wheel, a second wheel, a third wheel, and afourth wheel, and wherein said first wheel and said second wheel have aradius 20 percent larger than said third wheel and said fourth wheel

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; and wheels with a radius larger than 90 cm, wherein atleast one of said wheels has a radius that is at least three timeslarger than its width.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels; and electrical steering, wherein said wheelscomprise a first wheel and a second wheel, and wherein said electricalsteering comprises independently controlling a first speed of said firstwheel and independently controlling a second speed of said second wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels; and electrical steering, wherein said wheelscomprise a first wheel and a second wheel, and wherein said electricalsteering comprises independently controlling a first speed of said firstwheel and independently controlling a second speed of said second wheel,wherein at least one of said wheels has a radius larger than 90 cm.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels; and electrical steering, wherein said wheelscomprise a first wheel and a second wheel, and wherein said electricalsteering comprises independently controlling a first speed of said firstwheel and independently controlling a second speed of said second wheel,wherein at least one of said wheels has a wave shape profile.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels; and electrical steering, wherein said wheelscomprise a first wheel and a second wheel, and wherein said electricalsteering comprises independently controlling a first speed of said firstwheel and independently controlling a second speed of said second wheel,wherein said car comprises at least one hybrid driving system.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels; and electrical steering, wherein said wheelscomprise a first wheel and a second wheel, and wherein said electricalsteering comprises independently controlling a first speed of said firstwheel and independently controlling a second speed of said second wheel,wherein said wheels comprise a first wheel, a second wheel, a thirdwheel, and a fourth wheel, and wherein said first wheel and said secondwheel have a radius 20 percent larger than said third wheel and saidfourth wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels; and electrical steering, wherein said wheelscomprise a first wheel and a second wheel, and wherein said electricalsteering comprises independently controlling a first speed of said firstwheel and independently controlling a second speed of said second wheel,wherein at least one of said wheels has a radius that is at least threetimes larger than its width.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels, wherein at least one of said wheels has a waveshape profile.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels, wherein at least one of said wheels has a waveshape profile, wherein at least one of said wheels has a radius largerthan 90 cm.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels, wherein at least one of said wheels has a waveshape profile, electrical steering, wherein said wheels comprise a firstwheel and a second wheel, and wherein said electrical steering comprisesindependently controlling a first speed of said first wheel andindependently controlling a second speed of said second wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels, wherein at least one of said wheels has a waveshape profile, wherein said car comprises at least one hybrid drivingsystem.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels, wherein at least one of said wheels has a waveshape profile, wherein said wheels comprise a first wheel, a secondwheel, a third wheel, and a fourth wheel, and wherein said first wheeland said second wheel have a radius 20 percent larger than said thirdwheel and said fourth wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical family car, comprising: an electricallydriven motor; wheels, wherein at least one of said wheels has a waveshape profile, wherein at least one of said wheels has a radius that isat least three times greater than its width.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; speed controlelectronics; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a first frontwheel, a second front wheel, a first back wheel, and a second backwheel, wherein said first back wheel radius is at least 20% greater thansaid first front wheel radius, wherein said speed control electronicscontrol said at least two electrically driven motors to provide agreater torque to said first front wheel than to said first back wheel,and wherein said electrical passenger car is designed to travel for agreater distance for the same axial to wheel friction energy loss than asimilar electrical passenger car having wheels of a smaller radius.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; speed controlelectronics; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a first frontwheel, a second front wheel, a first back wheel, and a second backwheel, wherein said first back wheel radius is at least 20% greater thansaid first front wheel radius, wherein said speed control electronicscould be controlled to provide much greater braking and recharging tosaid back wheel than to said front wheel, and wherein said electricalpassenger car is designed to travel for a greater distance for the sameaxial to wheel friction energy loss than a similar electrical passengercar having wheels of a smaller radius.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; speed controlelectronics; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a first frontwheel, a second front wheel, a first back wheel, and a second backwheel, wherein said first back wheel radius is at least 20% greater thansaid first front wheel radius, wherein said speed control electronicscould be controlled to provide a much greater braking and recharging tosaid back wheel than to said front wheel, and wherein said speed controlelectronics control said at least two electrically driven motors toprovide a greater torque to said back wheel than to said front wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; speed controlelectronics; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a front wheel anda back wheel, wherein said back wheel radius is at least 20% greaterthan said front wheel radius, wherein said speed control electronicscontrol said at least two electrically driven motors to provide agreater torque to said front wheel than to said back wheel, and whereinsaid speed control electronics control said at least two electricallydriven motors to provide a greater torque to said back wheel than tosaid front wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; speed controlelectronics; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a front wheel anda back wheel, wherein said back wheel radius is at least 20% greaterthan said front wheel radius, and wherein said speed control electronicscould be controlled to provide greater braking and recharging to saidback wheel than to said front wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; speed controlelectronics; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a front wheel anda back wheel, wherein said back wheel radius is at least 20% smallerthan said front wheel radius, wherein said speed control electronicscontrol said at least two electrically driven motors to provide agreater torque to said front wheel than to said back wheel, and whereinsaid speed control electronics control said at least two electricallydriven motors to provide a greater torque to said back wheel than tosaid front wheel.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; motor controlelectronics; sensors; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a firstfront wheel and a first back wheel, wherein said first back wheel has aradius at least 20% greater than a radius of said first front wheel, andwherein during acceleration of said electrical passenger car, said motorcontrol electronics receive signals from said sensors and providetraction control delivering more power to one of said at least twoelectrically driven motors accordingly.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; motor controlelectronics; sensors; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a firstfront wheel and a first back wheel, wherein said first back wheel radiusis at least 20% greater than said first front wheel radius, and whereinduring acceleration of said electrical passenger car, said motor controlelectronics receive signals from said sensors indicating skidding of atleast one wheel, and wherein said motor control electronics send signalsso to reduce torque provided to at least one of said at least twoelectrically driven motors.

In another aspect, an electrical passenger car, the electrical passengercar comprising: at least two electrically driven motors; motor controlelectronics; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a first frontwheel and a first back wheel, wherein said first back wheel radius is atleast 20% smaller than said first front wheel radius, wherein said motorcontrol electronics are controlled to provide greater braking andrecharging to/from said first back wheel than to/from said first frontwheel.

In general electric cars are known to have far better energy efficiencythan internal combustion propelled cars. For electric propelled cars,about 60% of the battery energy is delivered to its wheels as comparedto gas driven cars which have about a 20% efficiency. Furthermore, formost electric cars, a majority of the braking operation is achievedthrough generator emf, which results in electrical generation; thusconverting the wheel rotation energy back into to electrical energy.Consequently, the axial friction of an electric car ultimately dominatesthe use of its battery charge. Using a larger wheel (radius/diameter,not width) could provide a greater travel distance for the same axialfriction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention will be understood and appreciatedmore fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunctionwith the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a left side view ofefficient wheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a right side view ofefficient wheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a bottom view ofefficient wheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a top view of efficientwheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a back view of efficientwheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a front view of efficientwheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a left side view ofefficient wheels on a vehicle depicting measures;

FIG. 8 is an additional exemplary drawing illustration of a left sideview of efficient wheels on a vehicle depicting measures;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a bottom side view ofefficient wheels on a vehicle depicting measures;

FIG. 10 is an additional exemplary drawing illustration of a left sideview of efficient wheels on a vehicle depicting measures;

FIG. 11A is an exemplary drawing illustration of a bottom view ofconventional profile wheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 11B is an exemplary drawing illustration of a bottom view of novelprofile wheels on a vehicle;

FIG. 12A is an exemplary drawing illustration of a side view of wheelson a vehicle;

FIGS. 12B-12C are additional exemplary drawing illustrations of a sideview of efficient wheels on a vehicle; and

FIG. 13 is an exemplary drawing illustration of a general block diagramfor a car control system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to thedrawing figures. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat the description and figures illustrate rather than limit theinvention and that in general the figures are not drawn to scale forclarity of presentation. Such skilled persons will also realize thatmany more embodiments are possible by applying the inventive principlescontained herein and that such embodiments fall within the scope of theinvention which is not to be limited except by the appended claims.

Currently electric motor driven cars, either as hybrid or full electricvehicles, are becoming popular. In such cars one of the dominatingenergy losses is directly related to the car axial to wheel friction.The car efficiency could therefore be increased by increasing the carwheel diameter which could yield a larger traveling distance (about ad)for the same axial to wheel friction related energy loss. This isespecially applicable for the common passenger car which is designed tooperate on paved roads. Accordingly it could be desired to have the carefficient wheel diameter at least about 20% larger than the averagewheel diameter of similar sized common passenger cars, or even greaterthan about 40%, or greater than about 60%, or greater than about 80% oreven more than double the size of a common passenger car designed tooperate on a paved road, such as, for example, highways or commonstreets.

A very large wheel diameter could make the design of the car morechallenging, for example, for the front wheels which need room forsteering. In the following some alternatives are presented to helpovercome this challenge. One alternative it to use differential wheelspeed as an alternative to mechanical steering. Another alternative isto have regular wheels for the front using conventional mechanicalsteering and having the large wheels only for the rear wheels. For theequal wheel size to be even more effective, the car could be designed sothe rear wheels will carry a bigger portion of the car weight.Preferably 60% of the car weight or 70% or even more than 75% of the carweight. Computer control of the traction, braking and turning may beneeded to ensure stability during turns and braking. As well, rear wheelassisted turning may need to be provided.

Many electric motor cars use more than a single motor to drive the car.In many of these vehicles the car steering could leverage the electroniccontrol of the wheel speed. Such speed and wheel controlled steeringcould assist the use of very large wheels, thus increasing the overallcar traveling distance per the same energy use.

Some drawing figures may describe various views of the invention orportions of the invention. These views may have many structures,numerals and labels that may be common between two or more adjacentdrawings. In such cases, some labels, numerals and structures used for acertain view's figure may have been described in the previous views'figures.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a left side view of efficient wheels on avehicle, may include a front left efficient wheel 100, a rear leftefficient wheel 101, and a vehicle 199. Vehicle 199 may also include avehicle front 198. In this document, the term wheels may include thetire.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a right side view of efficient wheels on avehicle, may include a front right efficient wheel 203, a rear rightefficient wheel 204, and a vehicle 299. Vehicle 299 may also include avehicle front 298.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a bottom view of efficient wheels on avehicle, may include a front left efficient wheel 300, a rear leftefficient wheel 301, a front right efficient wheel 303, a rear rightefficient wheel 304, and a vehicle 399. Vehicle 399 may also include avehicle front 398 and wheel axles 395. Note, axles may not be necessarywhen individual wheel motors are utilized, alternative suspensiondesigns may be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a top view of efficient wheels on vehicle 499,may include a front left fender 410, a rear left fender 411, a frontright fender 413, a rear right fender 414. Vehicle 499 may also includea vehicle front 498. Front left fender 410, a rear left fender 411, afront right fender 413, a rear right fender 414 may cover theirrespective efficient wheels referenced in the Figures herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a rear view of efficient wheels on a vehicle,may include a rear left efficient wheel 501, a rear right efficientwheel 504, and a vehicle 599. In this view, fenders or the body designof car 599 may only cover a small portion of the rear left efficientwheel 501 and rear right efficient wheel 504.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a front view of efficient wheels on a vehicle,may include a front left efficient wheel 601, a front right efficientwheel 603, a front left fender 610, a front right fender 613, and avehicle 599. In this view, fenders such as front left fender 610 andfront right fender 613 of car 599 may cover a portion of the front leftefficient wheel 501 and front right efficient wheel 504 respectively.The fenders of the car may also completely cover the efficient wheels ofthe car.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a left side view of efficient wheels on avehicle, may include a front left efficient wheel 700, a rear leftefficient wheel 701, a front passenger door 740, a rear passenger door750, and a vehicle 799. Vehicle 799 may also include a vehicle front798. Front passenger door 740 may have front passenger door width 741,which may be defined as the distance from the lock point to the axialdoor line. Similarly, rear passenger door 750 may have a rear passengerdoor width, similarly defined (not shown for drawing clarity). Efficientwheels may have a diameter, for example, rear left efficient wheel 701may have wheel diameter 746. Efficient wheel diameter 746 may be equalto or greater than the length of the larger of the front or rear doorside size of a consumer passenger car. For example, efficient wheeldiameter 746 may be equal to or greater than front passenger door width741.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, a left side view of efficient wheels on avehicle, may include a front left efficient wheel 800, a rear leftefficient wheel 801, front passenger door 840, a rear passenger door850, and a vehicle 899. Vehicle 899 may also include a vehicle front898. Front passenger door 840 may have front passenger door height 842,which may be defined as the distance from the front door bottom line tothe beginning of the window line. Similarly, rear passenger door 850 mayhave a rear passenger door height, similarly defined (not shown fordrawing clarity). Efficient wheels may have a diameter, for example,rear left efficient wheel 801 may have efficient wheel diameter 846.Efficient wheel diameter 846 may be equal to or greater than the lengthof the larger of the front or rear door height of a consumer passengercar. For example, efficient wheel diameter 846 may be equal to orgreater than front passenger door height 842.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, a bottom view of efficient wheels on avehicle, may include a front left efficient wheel 900, a rear leftefficient wheel 901, a front right efficient wheel 903, a rear rightefficient wheel 904, and a vehicle 999. Vehicle 999 may also include avehicle front 998 and wheel axles 995. Efficient wheels may have awidth, for example, front left efficient wheel 900 and rear leftefficient wheel 901 may have wheel width 960. Efficient wheels may havea wheel width larger than about 12 cm, or about 13 cm, or about 14 cm,or about 15 cm, or about 16 cm. For example, wheel width 960 may begreater than about 12 cm, or about 13 cm, or about 14 cm, or about 15cm, or about 16 cm.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, a left side view of efficient wheels on avehicle, may include a front left efficient wheel 1000, a rear leftefficient wheel 1001, front passenger door 1040, a rear passenger door1050, and a vehicle 1099. Vehicle 1099 may also include a vehicle front1098. Efficient wheels may have a diameter, for example, rear leftefficient wheel 1001 may have efficient wheel diameter 1046. Fenders mayhave a wheel cover spacing 1062, which may be defined as the distancefrom the top of the wheel, for example front left efficient wheel 1000,to the bottom of the associated fender/wheel cover car body at the verytop of the wheel. Similarly, wheel cover spacing 1062 may be definedutilizing the rear wheel(s) and the rear fender(s) (not shown fordrawing clarity). Wheel cover spacing may be smaller than about 15%, orsmaller than about 20%, or smaller than about 25%, or smaller than about10% of the efficient wheel diameter. For example, wheel cover spacing1062 may be smaller than about 15%, or smaller than about 20%, orsmaller than about 25%, or smaller than about 10% of efficient wheeldiameter 1046.

Another aspect of such a large wheeled car relates to steeringalternatives. The most common car steering is achieved by steering thewheels forming an angle between the front wheel direction and theremainder of the car; the car and the back wheel direction. For a largewheel (efficient wheel) as has been described herein this would requirea large space ‘under the hood’. An inventive embodiment herein is toprovide for a different speed between the wheels to steer the car.Similar techniques are used with tanks and some other heavy equipment.In many electric cars there are multiple drive motors and in some casesthose drive motors may be embedded in the wheel. In such a car thedifferential car steering could be done by electrical control saving theneed for steering mechanics. Such could reduce mechanics parts, carweight, and increase car steering capability especially at very lowspeed when one wheel could be held substantially still or close tostill, and only the other wheel is rotating achieving extremely smallturning radius. The other wheel could be on the same axle, or may be ona different axle than the held wheel.

Additional alternative is to use mechanical Differential Steering.Differential gearing is common in cars to accommodate the differentturning speeds of each wheel while the car is turning. This type ofmechanical differential gearing could also be used to achieve steeringby applying control so that one wheel is forced to turn at a differentspeed than the other wheel; the other wheel is usually the complementarywheel on the same axle or virtual axle, but not necessarily so.Mechanical differential speed for steering could include an electronicand computer control and the use of braking to achieve steering of thecar without the conventional steering, or combined with a limited (about2°, or less than about 5°, or less than about 10° degrees) use ofconventional mechanical steering.

Another alternative relates to the wheel profile. Conventional cars, forexample such as consumer passenger cars, may use wheels with a verysimple profile as is illustrated in FIG. 11A, which is a view of thebottom of the car. Conventionally profiled wheels 1101 may have asubstantially rectangular profile when viewed from below, and car 1199may include 4 conventionally profiled wheels 1101.

For a very large wheel an alternative is to use a shape profile asillustrated in FIG. 11B, which is a view from the bottom of the car.Such wheels could be lighter yet with very good road grabbing and lowersticking. Novel profiled wheels 1103 may have a substantially novelprofile when viewed from below, and car 1199 may include 4 novelprofiled wheels 1103. Alternatively, car 1199 may include a combinationof conventionally and novel profiled wheels (not shown).

FIG. 12A illustrates a conventional sports car with all wheels havingsubstantially the same size. Another alternative is to have the frontwheel and the back wheel different sizes as illustrated in FIG. 12B,which shows the exemplary car fitted with large wheels and uneven sizes.Some cars may have the weight unevenly spread between the front wheeland the back; thus, it could be preferred to have a very large wheel forthe heavy side and smaller wheels for the lighter side. Such a largerwheel could have more than about 5% or more than about 10% or more thanabout 20% larger diameter than the small wheel.

A challenge with asymmetric wheel size, such as is illustrated in FIG.12B, could relate to vehicle stability. The advantage of asymmetricwheels is greater with the asymmetric center of gravity of the vehiclein which the greater portion of the vehicle weight is over the largerwheel. While it could provide better travel distance it could haveconcerns of vehicle stability and of acceptable traction, good vehicle‘holding’ of the road, which may be influenced by shock absorbers, etc.

FIG. 12C illustrates a car with far larger back wheels than the frontwheel. For the purpose here the car could designed so more than 60% ormore than 70% or even more than 80% of the car's weight loaded on theselarge back wheels. Such an arrangement could challenge the car'sstability, especially during velocity changes such as acceleration orbraking. The car's design could be adjusted accordingly. Line 1204 is ahorizontal line drawn through the center point of the large backwheel—its axial. Accordingly the car's center of gravity could bedesigned to be around that line 1204 somewhere closer to the back wheelbut yet between the front wheels and the back wheels. It could bedesigned to account for the expected variation associated with havingpassengers and other loads. In an electric car the battery pack is asignificant portion of the overall car weight. Such could make theposition of the car center gravity as the battery pack position withinthe car is relatively less constricted than some of the other elements.The battery pack could be mounted such that it could be moved, forexample by motors, forward or backward in the car frame so to adjust thecenter of gravity according to the needs of the driver and the car.

It should be noted that most passenger cars have relatively moderatesized wheels of less than about 27 inch (diameter). Vehicles havinglarger than 30 inch wheels are generally designed to serve also onnon-paved roads. For example, such as SUVs, Jeeps or large heavy weightvehicles, for example with tracks rather than wheels. It is common thata large wheel size (diameters) comes with wider wheels such as widerthan about 8.5 inches. The special large wheel for the high efficiencyelectric car as presented herein could use a far narrower and lighterwheel such as less than about 8 inches, or less than about 7 inches, orless than about 6 inches, wide as the large wheel is not designed-in toaddress heavier loads or rough driving terrain, but rather theimprovement of the battery for the increased driving distance objective.Such narrower wheels could be lighter and provide comparable roadtraction (for example, as comparable square inches of tire ‘tread’ onthe road at any given instant). Accordingly in such cases of asymmetricwheel sizes, the larger wheel could be as wide as the smaller wheel oreven narrower.

An additional feature which could be added to support such an asymmetricwheeled car is traction control for the smaller wheels. Car users couldload the car in such a way that distorts the center of gravitysubstantially beyond the design target. The car could include sensors tomeasure the strain on the smaller wheels and actively monitor the strainto avoid the car loosing too much of the smaller wheel road traction. Asone of the objectives of having asymmetric wheel size is to allow thesmall wheels to act as the steering wheels with relatively less impacton the car design associated with the room for such steering.Controlling the wheel's traction is critical to maintain control of thecar steering. The control system could prevent too strong a velocitychange to prevent such a traction loss.

Accordingly improvements to help manage such concerns could be:

A. Electronic drive control to allocate more of the driving force to thesmaller wheels.

B. To have a dynamic control of the vehicle center of gravity such asthe ability to move a significant weight of the car, for example, morethan about 5%, more than about 10%, more than about 15%, more than about20%, or more than about 25% of the car's total weight, for example, suchas the weight of the battery pack, towards the smaller wheels once thecontrol system senses the load on those wheels has gone below a setthreshold.

C. Providing an ‘extra axle’ [with wheel(s)] momentarily in contact withthe ground as the stability control computer detects a need for astability adjustment. The ‘extra axle’ would preferably have two smallwheels (one could also be useful, but alignment with the car's velocityvector direction perfectly may be difficult under all road conditions)which are spinning at the same ratio adjusted rate as the, for example,large back (or small front), or at a slightly higher rate, via anelectric motor, and are momentarily extended to touch the ground. Thisextension could be done electronically for fast time control and/orhydraulically for overdrive force to monetarily unload the closest mainaxle and slightly overload the farthest away main axle. The force,contact time, and over-driving length (into the ground) could becomputer controlled. Sensors mounted underneath the car could giveprecise road conditions (divots, bumps, wet, dry, etc.) to the controlcomputer and aid in the computation. Placement would preferably behindthe back large wheel axle, past the wheel contact area, and/or forwardof the front wheel axle or contact area. Similar and yet smallereffects, but in a different vector, could be supplied by momentaryextension of flaps which could be integrated or mounted on the forwardand rear fenders. CG adjustments could also be made via short bursts ofa gas (for example, air) or liquid (for example water, which could comefrom rainwater collection, hydrogen fuel cell cars, etc.). These ‘jets’could be pointed down towards the ground, or up from the topside of thecar (but is rather in-esthetic). They may be placed near the axles orfurther backwards from the rear axle and further forward from the frontaxle, for leverage around the point of rotation generating a torque.

On-the-fly-CG adjustments could also be made via permanent andelectro-magnets. Preferably on each axle, at least one point, preferablytwo, a permanent magnet could be installed on the topside of the axleand an electromagnet installed on the frame just directly verticallyabove the permanent magnet. Ride adjustments could be made by energizingthe electromagnet to make it either attractive (opposite polarity: N-S,S-N) or repulsive (same polarity: N-N, S-S). Due to engineering,physics, and design choices, magnet placements could be further back orforward of the rear axle or front axle respectively.

Additional advantage for car with asymmetric wheels is utilizing a smarttorque control. For example a car having front wheel(s) having a firstsize and the back wheel(s) of far larger size and in which the frontwheels are powered by first motor and the back wheels with a secondmotor. Such an equipped car could use a smart control to deliver thetorque power to the proper set of wheels. For example, at low speed thesmaller wheels could be the ones used first to accelerate while at highspeed the larger wheels could be powered to maintain the driving cruisespeed. The relationship between speed, torque, and power in DC motors isdiscussed in a paper by Page, Matt, “Understanding DC MotorCharacteristics.” Center for Innovation in Product Development, MIT(1999); and by Huynh, Thanh Anh, and Min-Fu Hsieh, “Performance analysisof permanent magnet motors for electric vehicles (EV) tractionconsidering driving cycles.” Energies 11.6 (2018): 1385. In addition,work analyzing use of two different electric motors for front and backis presented in an article entitled “EV design—electric motors” postedat:https://x-engineer.org/automotive-engineering/vehicle/electric-vehicles/ev-design-electric-motors/,the two papers and one article herein above are incorporated herein byreference. The smart control could be managed to optimize for batteryuse, speed response & handling, and/or driver driving experience.

An additional use of such an asymmetric system is for improvingregenerative braking efficiency and stability; for example, at highspeeds braking with the large wheels may be first but then at lowerspeeds the small wheels are activated to keep the re-charging efficient.As illustrated in FIG. 13, a general block diagram for such a carcontrol system could have in its core at least one motor(s) computer1302. Motor(s) Computer 1302 may also comprise multiple computers, eachcontrolling for example, each wheel or portions of each wheel motor'sdynamic and static aspects, or it may comprise one computer controllingall aspects of controlling a wheel motor and perhaps other features,such as traction control, etc., or motor(s) computer 1302 may controlall four wheel motors, and so on. There may be a backup motor(s)computer as well. It is controlled by the driver commands 1300 and itcould have many sensors 1304 to provide data to be used in its computingprocess for smart motors control and safety levels/interlocks. Motor(s)computer 1302 may return data or haptic feature data to the drivercommands 1300. And accordingly interact with the front wheel motorscontrol 1306 and the back wheels motor control 1308. The Wheels MotorControls (1306/1308) may control motors which may be on each axle (asshown) or on each wheel (not shown).

An additional variation is to combine electronic steering (by differentwheel rotation of one side vs. the other side) with a limited mechanicalsteering. As the challenge with front wheels which are twice large as acommon wheel is that the mechanical steering of such a large wheel wouldlikely require an excessive amount of mechanism clearance for such largewheel steering. Limiting the mechanical steering to a much smallersteering degree, for example, such as more than 1° (degree) but lessthan 2°, or less than 5°, or less than 10°, and complementing it withelectronic steering could provide an advantage compared to onlymechanical steering or only electronic steering. Such a hybridelectro-mechanical steering system could provide an acceptable controlof the vehicle steering when using the asymmetric wheel size, or evenwith symmetric wheel sizes.

In an article titled “Bonkers patent wants to put super-sized wheels onelectric cars” published at https://driving.ca/ on Feb. 4, 2019, authorSimon Cohen of “Driving” (part of Postmedia Network Inc., 365 Bloor StEast, Toronto, ON, M4W3L4; www.postmedia.com) writes: “Larger wheels aretheoretically more efficient, especially at highway speeds. But only ifyou can compensate for their increased weight, and increased rollingresistance due to their proportionately wider stance, and greatercontact area with the road.” Such compensation could be achieved by:

A. Utilizing a narrow wheel profile with a waving pattern as presentedherein in respect to at least FIG. 11B.

B. Reducing the wheel width in proportion to the larger contact areaalong the direction of the vehicle motion keeping the overall contactabout the same. The common ratio of wheel width to its overall heightfor passenger cars designed to operate on a paved road is about 1 to 3.Reducing the relative wheel width could be such that the width tooverall wheel height (its diameter) is such that the aspect ratio wouldbe smaller than 1 to 4 or even smaller than 1 to 5.

C. Reduce the wheel width even further and accordingly reduce theoverall wheel road contact. Such reduction could increase the risk ofskidding due to the reduced road contact. To compensate for suchincreased risk of skidding, an electronic skid control could be added tothe electronic wheel drive control to have electronic skidding reductionsuch as is common for braking and known as anti-lock braking system(ABS). ABS control could be gently introduced at an earlier stage offriction loss and provide a confident feel of vehicle control to thedriver. As well, skid control could be improved by utilizing theon-the-fly-CG adjustments described above, especially the deployment ofone or more control wheels which could have a computer control steeringcapability added to the deployable system.

The electronic skid control could allow reduction of wheel width whichwould reduce wheel weight and rolling resistance and accordinglyimproving the overall energy efficiency of the car. Such skiddingcontrol systems have been presented in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,967,865,4,992,945, 5,195,037, 6,151,546, 6,691,015, 8,930,097, 10,029,679, and10,252,720, all incorporated herein by reference.

It will also be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art thatthe invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown anddescribed hereinabove. For example, drawings or illustrations may notshow details of automobile construction or design for clarity inillustration. Further, combinations and sub-combinations of the variousfeatures described hereinabove may be utilized. Rather, the scope of theinvention includes both combinations and sub-combinations of the variousfeatures described hereinabove as well as modifications and variationswhich would occur to such skilled persons upon reading the foregoingdescription.

We claim:
 1. An electrical passenger car, the electrical passenger carcomprising: at least two electrically driven motors; motor controlelectronics; sensors; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a firstfront wheel and a first back wheel, wherein said first back wheel has aradius at least 20% greater than a radius of said first front wheel, andwherein during acceleration of said electrical passenger car, said motorcontrol electronics receive signals from said sensors and providetraction control delivering more power to one of said at least twoelectrically driven motors accordingly.
 2. The electrical passenger caraccording to claim 1, wherein said electrical passenger car is designedto travel for a greater distance for the same axial to wheel frictionenergy loss than a similar electrical passenger car having wheels of asmaller radius.
 3. The electrical passenger car according to claim 1,further comprising: electrical steering, wherein said wheels comprisesaid first front wheel and a second front wheel, wherein said electricalsteering comprises independently controlling a first speed of said firstfront wheel and independently controlling a second speed of said secondfront wheel.
 4. The electrical passenger car according to claim 1,wherein said motor control electronics are controlled to provide greaterbraking and recharging to/from said first back wheel than to/from saidfirst front wheel.
 5. The electrical passenger car according to claim 1,wherein said first back wheel radius is at least 3 times greater than awidth of said first back wheel.
 6. The electrical passenger caraccording to claim 1, wherein said motor control electronics controlsaid at least two electrically driven motors to provide a greater torqueto said first front wheel than to said first back wheel, or wherein saidmotor control electronics control said at least two electrically drivenmotors to provide a greater torque to said first back wheel than to saidfirst front wheel.
 7. The electrical passenger car according to claim 1,wherein said electrical passenger car comprises a center of gravity, andwherein a distance from said center of gravity distance to a roadsurface is 10% longer or shorter than said first back wheel radius. 8.An electrical passenger car, the electrical passenger car comprising: atleast two electrically driven motors; motor control electronics;sensors; and wheels, wherein said wheels comprise a first front wheeland a first back wheel, wherein said first back wheel radius is at least20% greater than said first front wheel radius, and wherein duringacceleration of said electrical passenger car, said motor controlelectronics receive signals from said sensors indicating skidding of atleast one wheel, and wherein said motor control electronics send signalsso to reduce torque provided to at least one of said at least twoelectrically driven motors.
 9. The electrical passenger car according toclaim 8, wherein said electrical passenger car is designed to travel fora greater distance for the same axial to wheel friction energy loss thana similar electrical passenger car having wheels of a smaller radius.10. The electrical passenger car according to claim 8, furthercomprising: electrical steering, wherein said wheels comprise said firstfront wheel and a second front wheel, wherein said electrical steeringcomprises independently controlling to a first speed of said first frontwheel and independently controlling to a second speed of said secondfront wheel.
 11. The electrical passenger car according to claim 8,wherein said motor control electronics control said at least twoelectrically driven motors to provide a greater torque to said firstfront wheel than to said first back wheel.
 12. The electrical passengercar according to claim 8, wherein said first back wheel radius is atleast 3 times greater than a width of said first back wheel.
 13. Theelectrical passenger car according to claim 8, wherein said motorcontrol electronics are controlled to provide greater braking andrecharging to/from said first back wheel than to/from said first frontwheel.
 14. The electrical passenger car according to claim 8, whereinsaid electrical passenger car comprises a center of gravity, and whereina distance from said center of gravity to a road surface is 10% longeror shorter than said first back wheel radius.
 15. An electricalpassenger car, the electrical passenger car comprising: at least twoelectrically driven motors; motor control electronics; and wheels,wherein said wheels comprise a first front wheel and a first back wheel,wherein said first back wheel radius is at least 20% smaller than saidfirst front wheel radius, wherein said motor control electronics arecontrolled to provide greater braking and recharging to/from said firstback wheel than to/from said first front wheel.
 16. The electricalpassenger car according to claim 15, wherein said electrical passengercar is designed to travel for a greater distance for the same axial towheel friction energy loss than a similar electrical passenger carhaving wheels of a smaller front wheel radius.
 17. The electricalpassenger car according to claim 15, further comprising: electricalsteering, wherein said wheels comprise a first front wheel and a secondfront wheel, wherein said electrical steering comprises independentlycontrolling a first speed of said first front wheel and independentlycontrolling a second speed of said second front wheel.
 18. Theelectrical passenger car according to claim 15, wherein said motorcontrol electronics control said at least two electrically driven motorsto provide a greater torque to said first front wheel than to said firstback wheel, or wherein said motor control electronics control said atleast two electrically driven motors to provide a greater torque to saidfirst back wheel than to said first front wheel.
 19. The electricalpassenger car according to claim 15, wherein during acceleration of saidelectrical passenger car, said motor control electronics receive signalsfrom said sensors indicating skidding of at least one wheel, and whereinsaid motor control electronics reduce torque provided to at least one ofsaid at least two electrically driven motors.
 20. The electricalpassenger car according to claim 15, wherein said electrical passengercar comprises a center of gravity, and wherein a distance from saidcenter of gravity to a road surface is 10% longer or shorter than saidfirst front wheel radius.